Fiscal policy

The government is throwing four programs with a total cost of 2.4 billion euros into the battle against the housing crisis.

People wait to cross a road near a construction site in Beijing on July 9, 2024.

China said Friday it would gradually raise its statutory retirement age, as the country grapples with a looming demographic crisis and an older population.

Hundreds of millions of people in China are set to enter old age in the coming decades while the birth rate dwindles dramatically.

The consistent overshooting of tax revenue targets seen every month this year is now safely forecast to lead to a higher primary surplus in the 2024 budget compared to the target. That will allow the government to plan additional spending of around €500 million for the next year compared to the original target - after an agreement with Brussels. 

German measures to incentivize workers to retire later come as governments across Europe are turning to pension reforms to address worker shortages and ease the burden on their pension systems.

Here is what other European countries are doing.

France

It is highly likely that the government will need to continue subsidizing electricity bills in September as natural gas prices rose toward the end of August, Environment and Energy Minister Theodoros Skylakakis said in a radio interview Friday.

One reason the negotiations over a European Union contribution to the new housing loan subsidy program are still going on is that the EU wants the houses that will be eligible for loan subsidies to be upgraded to become more energy efficient. 

As a rule, 38% of the funding provided by the Recovery and Resilience Fund should go to activities benefiting the environment. 

Beijing on Wednesday launched a probe into EU subsidies of some dairy products imported into China, the day after the bloc said it planned to impose five-year import duties of up to 36 percent on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).

The Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, in collaboration with all relevant Ministries, is activating the framework of state aid to support the areas of Attica affected by the August 11, 2024, fire. Some of these measures also apply to other areas impacted by fires during the summer of 2024.

The vast majority of pensioners will get an extra €15-30 from their pensions alone on January 1. However, thousands will also get an extra subsidy, ranging from €100-€200, especially those whose pensions do not exceed €700 per month.

The European Central Bank's cautious monetary policy will be partly responsible for the eurozone's weak economic growth over the next year or two, UK-based research firm Capital Economics maintains.

The firm forecasts growth in the eurozone at 0.7% in 2024, 1.2% in 2025 and 1.1% in 2026.